Morpeth Town gaining momentum ahead of Hebburn Town visit

Morpeth Town manager Craig Lynch has noted the increased ‘consistency and confidence’ within his squad as they prepare to visit Hebburn Town on Saturday.

With injuries hampering any attempts to find early-season form, the Highwaymen have spent the majority of the campaign languishing in the NPL Premier Division’s relegation zone. However, the return of some key players has brought a major upturn in form and Morpeth will head to the Trustmark Group Stadium looking to make it just one defeat in eight games and move further away from the drop zone ahead of a hectic festive period.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s game, the former Sunderland forward revealed the struggles he and his coaching staff facing during a challenging opening to the season.

He told The Gazette: “The hardest thing to do in football is to turn it around when you’re in a slump and we weren’t playing badly at the start of the season, we were just getting injuries and we couldn’t get consistency, especially in the backline. Out of the first 15 games, we had ten different partnerships in centre of defence and it’s hard to start the season like that. The first ten games we got five points, the last ten I think we’ve picked up 17, so that shows the consistency and confidence means we can mix it with anyone.”

Difficult

Lynch praised the remarkable run of form Hebburn have embarked on over the last two months after seven consecutive wins took Daniel Moore’s men from the fringes of the play-off places into second place in the table. The Highwaymen boss compared the Hornets run of form to three of the most consistent clubs that have graced the NPL Premier Division in recent years before securing promotion into the National League North.

He said: “I was trying to think how many teams have won seven on the bounce in the last four years and I can only think of maybe South Shields, Radcliffe and Macclesfield and they’re the best three teams I’ve seen. I can’t praise Bobby (Moore) and Hebburn enough because seven fixtures in this league, especially in this season when it’s so tight, and blowing teams away like they have, is no small achievement. It’s a difficult game, there’s no doubt about that.”

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